Spout for liquid containers



Nov. 17, 1936. v w w, HELLE 2,061,071

SPOUT FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 26, 1934 Patented Nov. 17. 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

My invention relates in general to drain spouts for liquid containers and is directed more particularly to a combination can opener and drain spout which may be detachably secured to any tin container of liquids so as to open such can and pour the contents therefrom.

Dimculties have always been encountered in pouring liquid from a metal container into a somewhat restricted opening whether it be a tube, a small container, bottle or the like. The difliculty arises in the inability to positively control the stream of the liquid from the container. Recently the custom has grown up of providing lubricating oils for the engines of motor vehicles in a sealed metal container so as to insure proper measure and quality of the oil. Various methods have been employed for opening the container and then draining the contents thereof into the oil receiving pipe for the crank case of the engine. Those in use at the present time are either rather large and expensive devices or inexpensive and entirely unsatisfactory.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved detachable spout for a liquid container.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a detachable spout which will serve also as a can opener so as to insert the spout in the container and secure it thereto without additional implements.

A still further object is to provide such a device which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, certain in operation and very sturdy in use.

A still further object is to provide such a detachable spout which may be conveniently carried in the pocket of a service station operator for instance, and

It is also an object to provide a spout of such a construction as to collect a minimum of dust and dirt therein and then further, so simple as to make cleaning of the same readily possible.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken with the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the combination spout and can opener of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the spout inserted in the can top;

Fig. 4is a bottom view of the structure of Fig.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the spout showing the condition of the top of the can with the spout firmly attached thereto;

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the structure of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 illustrates the condition of the finished opening in the can after the spout has been secured thereto; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view along the line 8-8 of Fig. 2.

In practicing my invention, I provide a drain spout for a liquid container with said spout comprising an elongated body member having a container cutting portion at one end extending into an integral drain spout, with means adjacent the cutting portion for engaging the edge of the cut portion of the container to detachably secure the spout to said container.

Referring now to the drawing;

Although difficulties have always been encountered in pouring liquids from a, container in a somewhat restricted stream, the particular art or industry in which such a procedure was followed was such that the inconveniences were accepted and forgotten or somewhat expensive means were provided for directing the stream of the liquid.-

I refer particularly to the use of canned liquid food-stuffs where a housewife using the same has the necessary time in which 1301 1115 .up"*with inconveniences noted above. Or I might refer to the use of large containers for storing lubricating oils and the like where the size of the container and the price of the contents permit the use of a rather expensive spout construction on the can itself. The present widespread use of quart cans for carrying lubricating oils necessitates an inexpensive, simple and expeditious method of draining the oil in a directed stream from said container. I provide a device which has been found to meet all of the requirements of the trade which comprises a comparatively short body member ID including a drain spout or tube II at one end and an irregularly shaped portion l2 at the other end adapted for cutting into a liquid container and making a hole therein of such size as to quickly drain the contents from said can through the tube II into any restricted opening or receptacle for carrying oil into the crank case of the ordinary automobile motor. The spout I I may be of any desired shape or size to correspond to the opening for receiving the oil which in the auto industry is standard to most cars.

The irregularly shaped portion l2 includes a. spear point l3 for originally piercing the top of the container and an elliptical-shaped opening I! extending upwardly toward the spout. In inserting the cutting portion into the can, the entire device is simply pushed downwardly, and after the top is originally pierced by the point 13,

the edge of the opening ll, although not speciflcally sharpened, serves as a cutting edge to enlarge the hole. An enlarged aperture I6 is provided to the rear of the opening I! to facilitate the drainage of the oil from the container into the spout H. The oil or other liquid may of course flow through both the opening l4 and opening IS in the rear.

In order to have a leak-proof connection between the spout and container, it is necessary to securely attach said member to the top of the can. This is accomplished by providing a spring thread I! looked onto the upper end of the portion I2 by a slot 18 (Fig. 8) for holding one end of the spring thread, and a slot l9 restricting the movement of the other end. A collar 2| assists in limiting the movement of the spring thread I! and serves as a limiting wall for the cork washer 22 encircling the upper portion of the spring thread I! and adapted to rest against the top of the can when the spout is in place as shown in Fig. 3.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, it may be seen that a point 23 of the portion I2 is bent out beyond the normal circumference of said portion at this particular place in my device. After the spring thread I! is pushed upwardly over the portion l2 and one end is locked in the slot l8, the other end is forced into the slot [9 and the point 23 bent out to its position in Fig. 3 to cooperate with the inner wall of the portion l2 to hold that end of the spring thread in place. It will thus be seen that although slight circular movement of the spring thread is possible, this member is positively locked at one end against vertical movement as a whole on the device.

In the use of my device as explained above,-

the cutting portion I2 is simply pushed downwardly through the top of the metal container. Because of the particular construction of the opening ll, substantially the entire piece of tin cut to provide an aperture in the top of the container is pushed downwardly in a flap 24 as shown in Fig. 3. Upon completion of this cutting operation the point 23 lies below the top 26 of the can, together with a portion of the spring thread II. The downward movement is arrested when the cork washer 22 rests against the top 26, with the width of said washers determining the portion of the spring lying below the surface. Gripping the spout II in one hand the entire device may then be turned clockwise in the manner of an ordinary right hand thread and in turning the spout, the flap 24 is lapped back to the position shown in Fig. by operation initially of the point 23. The short burr 21 around the remainder of the opening in the can is also lapped back. With this turning the spring thread ll yieldably engages the edge of the opening in the can, threads the device into said can and retains it thereon with the washer 22 held in a leak-proof connection with the outer surface of the top 26. The light sheet metal top 26 which is ordinarily manufactured of tin plate is of course soft and somewhat flexible so that in pressing the device into the can the top 26 is pushed into a somewhat irregular surface .par-

ticularly adjacent the edge of the cut opening. The spring thread I'I being yieldable over its entire length readily adapts itself to this uneven surface and secures the spout to the can in a very rigid connection.

After attaching the spout to the can, as above described, the container may be turned up side down with the spout ll extending into any receptacle. The liquid will flow through the openings II and I6 and out through the spout H. After emptying the container, the spout may be quickly unscrewed from the same and is ready for immediate use on another can.

It will thus be seen that I provide a very simple yet sturdy detachable spout for a liquid container which in itself provides means for cutting the necessary hole in said container, and then after only a slight twist on the device, acts to direct a stream of liquid therefrom. The entire member is short enough to fit into ones pocket and designed as to preclude the possibility of dirt collecting in crevices and comers to subsequently be carried out of the device by liquid from the container. If a slight amount of dirt should collect in the spout, for instance, it can quickly and thoroughly be washed therefrom. The spout may furthermore be stamped from sheet metal of any desired weight, with low material cost and low labor cost for manufacture and assembly.

Although I have described the embodiment of my invention in use particularly with lubricating oil containers, it is understood that I contemplate the use of this device with any type of light metal container for any liquid. It is also understood that although I have described my invention in its preferred embodiment, I do not limit myself thereby but limit the invention only by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a drain spout for a liquid container, cutting means on said spout for opening a hole in said container, a spring thread on said spout for fastening said spout on the container, and means for retaining said thread on said spout in a manner permitting yieldable longitudinal movement intermediate the ends but limiting longitudinal and rotary motion.

2. In a drain spout for a liquid container, cutting means on said spout for opening a hole in 7 said container, a coiled spring on said spout, with the individual coils lying in substantial adjoining relationship, means for retaining said spring on said spout in a manner to limit rotary and longitudinal motion thereof but permit longitudinal yieldable movement of the spring intermediate its ends for threading the coil spring onto the container to retain the spout thereon.

3. In a drain spout for a liquid container, an annular flange intermediate the ends of said spout, a cutting and entering portion at oneend of the spout to cut a hole in the container, a yieldable spring thread on the cutting and entering portion of the spout positioned to one side of the flange, means for limiting the relative longitudinal and rotary movement of the spring thread during use, a gasket in front of said flange and lying over a portion of thread whereby upon screwing said spout into said container, said yieldable spring thread presses the wall of the container against the gasket in a leak-proof connection.

4. In a drain spout for a liquid container, an elongated tube having a drain spout at one end, a container cutting and entering portion at the other end with an intermediate annular flange, a yieldable spring thread on the cutting and entering portion, a gasket in front of the flange and over a portion of the thread, and means on said tube portion cooperating to retain one end longitudinal movement of the intermediate portion of the spring thread to press the wall of the container against said gasket in a leaf-proof connection.

5. In a drain spout for a liquid container, a container cutting and entering portion at one end, means carried on said portion for detachably securing said spout to a container, said means including a yieldable spring thread coiled about said portion with a pair of slots in said portion and each slot adapted to retain an end of the spring thread and maintain said thread on the spout but permit yieldable longitudinal movement of the spring intermediate the retained ends.

6. In a drain spout for a liquid container, a tubular container cutting and entering portion at one end having a substantially elliptical shaped cutting edge extending over a portion thereof, a transverse slot opening from the lowermost point of said elliptical edge with a cutting lip on the side of the slot toward the cutting point of the spout extending further from the axis of the tube than the rest of the tube therebelow,

a yieldable spring thread on said cutting and entering portion having one end retained in said slot against an objectionable degree of iongitudinal movement relative to said spout, means for retaining the other end of the spring thread against an objectionable degree of longitudinal and rotary movement but permitting yieldable movement of the spring intermediate the retained ends for threadably securing the spout to a container.

'1. In a drain spout for a liquid container, an annular flange intermediate the ends of said spout, a cutting and entering portion at one end of the spout to cut a hole in the container, a yieldable spring thread on the cutting and entering portion of the spout positioned to one side of the flange, means for limiting its rotary motion and the relative longitudinal movement of its ends, a gasket against said flange and lying over a portion 01' thread whereby upon screwing said spout into said container, said yieldable thread spring presses the wall of the container against the gasket in a leaf-proof connection.

WARREN W. HELLE. 

